Well, 8 changes to the RSL starting XI from Wednesday night and nobody was good enough as RSL were victimized by Dwayne DeRosario who may have just had one of the best individual performances in MLS history. It can simply be said that nobody on the pitch for RSL was good enough in this match, there are no excuses that can cover such a poor performance.
In the scheme of a long season there are times you have to start some younger guys, you have to juggle your lineup, and it is easy for any of us to try and second guess Jason Kreis about decisions made on Saturday night, but before you turn into an armchair coach, you should remember a couple of things. RSL has done this before with much better success than what they experienced tonight, RSL were playing their 3rd match in 7 days and have two more in the next 7 days, so subs had to be made at some point.
For me it was a chance to see who can be counted on down the stretch, and to be honest nobody impressed me but we know that when you mix and match so many players it is hard to evaluate anyone because of the lack of familiarity of playing together as a team. RSL will not win the Supporters' Shield this year, LA won't melt down and we can't catch them, so now it is about staying in the top 3 of the conference, about getting healthy and ready for the post season.
I wish I had never watched the final minutes of DC's 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on Wednesday, had I not seen it I would be nothing but impressed with what Dwayne did tonight, he simply put his team on his back and carried them to the win and perhaps a playoff spot for DC United. Still I have that sick feeling in my stomach that if MLS had done the right thing (right by their previously established standard) and suspended DeRo for tonight's match what might have happened? Was this RSL lineup capable of winning against a DC without DeRo? We will never know what might have been, we only know that what RSL did on Saturday wasn't worthy of what fans have come to expect.
OFF MY SOAPBOX